Premium
Decision Making Using Rating Systems: When Scale Meets Binary
Author(s) -
Bargagliotti Anna E.,
Li Lingfang Ivy
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
decision sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.238
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1540-5915
pISSN - 0011-7315
DOI - 10.1111/deci.12049
Subject(s) - binary number , scale (ratio) , computer science , aggregate (composite) , rating scale , simple (philosophy) , point (geometry) , rating system , decision system , operations research , econometrics , data mining , management science , economics , statistics , mathematics , environmental economics , philosophy , physics , materials science , arithmetic , geometry , epistemology , quantum mechanics , composite material
This article investigates how different decisions can be reached when decision makers consult a binary rating system and a scale rating system. Since typically decision makers use rating information to make binary decisions, it is particularly important to compare the scale system to the binary system. We show that the only N ‐point scale system that reports a rater's opinion consistently with the binary system is one where N is odd and N − 1 is not divisible by 4. At the aggregate level, however, we illustrate that inconsistencies persist regardless of the choice of N . In addition, we provide simple tools that can determine whether the systems lead decision makers to the same decision outcomes.